Summer is here, and this means one thing to many hotel owners – occupied rooms, hordes of vacationers, and most importantly, more business for your establishment. It can be easy to overlook some of the issues that face your hotel when the rooms are empty and guests are not around, but when your hotel is fully occupied, many of its faults become magnified. The leaky, dripping sink in Room 312 becomes an issue to the light-sleeping family. John in 113 is complaining that cell phone reception is poor in his room, and he cannot get a wi-fi signal for his laptop, and the recently graduated college students can’t seem to figure out how to work the ice dispenser to keep their drinks cold. While we don’t employ plumbers, and we probably can’t help John find better reception (move to a higher room maybe?), we can make sure your hotel guests are never without ice by outfitting you (and them) with the perfect hotel ice machine and ice dispenser.

On the surface, the hotel ice dispenser is simply the vessel by which ice is transported from your ice machine to your guests. But the ice dispenser is also a reflection of you, and the amount of care care you put into your hotel and your guests. The quality of the unit, the ease by which the ice dispenser is operated, and the size of the container that the ice dispenser accepts are all qualities that make one ice dispenser more desirable than another. Scotsman, Ice-O-Matic, Manitowoc, and Hoshizaki all provide hotel ice dispensers for use in conjunction with their ice machines, and all of them measure either 22 or 30 inches. Their differences, while somewhat subtle, are many, and can make a big difference in the quality of your guests’ stay in your establishment.

To make it easier to find the best hotel ice dispenser for your location, we created this easy to read table that breaks down every ice dispenser offered at Ice Machines Plus. This way, you can find the most fitting ice dispenser that suits you and your guests’ needs. In each category, we highlighted the ice dispenser that “won” the category, and provided the greatest advantage in the selected area. Scotsman’s HD30B for example, is offered at the lowest price, but Hoshizaki’s DB-200H ice dispenser holds the greatest amount of ice at 200 pounds. The 11 foot power cord on the HD30B is also the longest, so your ice dispenser can be placed further away from an existing wall outlet. With this guide, you can assess all of the most important qualities that each of these hotel ice dispensers will provide to your establishment.

As you can see, each of these ice dispensers provides the owner with distinct advantages. It should be noted that while these ice dispensers do not require any additional clearance to operate, the ice machine that sits on top of them may require six to eight inches of clearance to create ice effectively. You should plan accordingly when selecting an ice dispenser and should also be aware that these units are simply ice dispensers and they require an ice machine to be purchased in addition to them. Also, Manitowoc’s SFA ice dispensers are not listed here, as they can be modified to accept room keys or coins in order to dispense ice. The SRA and SCA dispensers are essentially SFA dispensers with one modification made to them. Otherwise, they are all identical.

Below, you can find the same information provided by the image above, but in print form. This way, you can consult whichever guide you find easier to follow or understand. Note – All of these features, prices, and characteristics are current as of July, 2013. There may be changes made to these ice dispensers, so it is always best to consult one of our Ice Experts to make sure all of this information is current and up to date.